This week Ed Barker talks to Jeff Walton, Chief Risk Officer at Strive, about the company's shift from anti-ESG activism to building a Bitcoin treasury aimed at institutional exposure. Walton's background in reinsurance positions him well to understand the changing Bitcoin landscape, and how others in the market are delivering Bitcoin-driven balance-sheet growth. The conversation covers Strive’s approach to managing Bitcoin volatility, the role of a perpetual preferred equity security instrument, and transparent, real-time performance data. The episode shifts to a discussion about regulation - headwinds like Basel III - and tailwinds in the Bitcoin market. We talk about the impact of BlackRock and bank-launched Bitcoin ETFs, the thesis that expanding money supply and debt support Bitcoin as a store of value, and AI-driven threats to corporate cash flows.
00:00 Introduction to Jeff Walton, Chief Risk Officer, Strive
10:00 Strive's Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
10:32 Perpetual Preferred Equity Explained
13:58 Strive's Evolution: From ESG Activism to Bitcoin
19:01 The Regulatory and Policy Landscape
22:22 Crypto's Credibility Problem and Institutional Adoption
29:45 Corporate Treasury and Bitcoin as a Store of Value
40:05 Jeff's Pacific Northwest Roots
46:10 Strive's Market Position
50:26 The Role of a Chief Risk Officer
About Your Host
Ed Barker has enjoyed a weird and varied career. Ed is a Brit now resident in Seattle and has founded three startups, enjoyed a long career in corporate strategy, and most recently as a VC. Sound Investments shines a small light on the fantastic work being done in the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial community.
Studio 1878
Ed is Founder of Studio 1878, a podcast strategy and production studio focused on helping brands tell smarter, more human stories. We work with founders, operators, and marketing leaders to design shows that serve clear strategic goals. Studio 1878 handles the full process - from concept and positioning through recording, editing, and distribution. Our work blends editorial thinking with production craft, prioritizing substance over noise. The result is podcasts that build trust, credibility, and long-term brand value.
Jeff Walton, Strive
Jeff is Chief Risk Officer at Strive, the publicly traded Bitcoin treasury and asset management company, where he leads capital markets strategy and risk for one of the world's top ten corporate Bitcoin holders. He is also founder and CEO of True North, a Strive subsidiary and peer group focused on Bitcoin treasury adoption, structured credit, and collateralized finance, and host of the Hurdle Rate podcast. Before Strive, Jeff spent more than a decade in reinsurance and capital markets, building deep expertise in structured finance, risk transfer, and probabilistic risk analysis — a background he now applies to designing Bitcoin-backed credit instruments aimed at the $300T fixed income market. He holds a BA in Business and Economics from the University of Puget Sound.
Connect with Jeff:
Strive: strive.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeff-walton-3b39683a
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